Saturday, March 10th, 2012, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silk

Words: 72

Blocks: 29

Hi There~!

Triple 10's, triple 9's and a very low block count make up today's offering from Mr. Silk. Started off well by skipping the stacks and filling in the shorter answers first, and then on the second pass got most of the tough fill. Closed out in the SW corner, ironically with LOOSE ENDS - imagine that. Two 11-letter climbers as well;

10D. Dylan hit originally written for "Midnight Cowboy" :

LAY LADY LAY - I will let you link

30D. Basketball formation with numerous play options : SET OFFENSE - more at 60A, too - as you may not know, basketball is just not my thing - in fact, a game was on the TVs for sale in the Radio Shack I was shopping in, and just that squeak of sneakers made me want to leave...

ONward ~!

ACROSS:

1. Natural liniment : WITCH HAZEL

11. Beliefs : -ISMS

15. MacLeish work inspired by a treatise published circa 18 B.C. : ARS POETICA

16. "The Grapes of Wrath" traveler : OKIE

17. Decent sort : REGULAR GUY

18. Turner of records : TINA

19. Rubble creator : TNT

20. WWII leadership monogram : D.D.E. - Dwight David Eisenhower, usually clued as having played a part in the "ETO" campaign

21. Picks up : LEARNS

23. Like many poll questions : YES/NO

25. "Paradise Lost" figure : SATAN - not the NHL hockey player; has gone on to play in Slovakia

28. Period in a sonnet : E'EN - Evening

29. Without getting excited : IN STRIDE - as in "he took it in stride"

31. Govt. benefits provider : SSA - Social Security Administration - I am paying in to a benefit program I will not be able to draw from....

32. Bleep : DELETE - ah, not CENSOR

35. Sauté : FRY

36. Golfer's concern : HOOK

37. Mexican salamander : AXOLOTL - YIKES~!!

39. The States, to Mexicans : EL NORTE

41. Reunión attendees : TIOS - Uncle in Spanish, no?

42. Word of awe : OOH - and we have; 46D. "That feels great!" : AAH

44. Main arteries : AORTAS

45. Sudanese leader? : ESS - the capital "S"

46. "Age before beauty!" : AFTER YOU~!

48. __-Julie: Montreal suburb : STE - French abbr. for Saint

49. Media workers' org. : AFTRA - website

50. Employ against, as tear gas : USE ON

54. Develop canines, say : TEETHE - not the dog; see 26D

56. Welcome site : MAT

58. Jacuzzi setting : SPA - the locale, not "HOT", "JET", or "OFF" - hey, that could be a cute misdirection....

59. Last Stuart monarch : ANNE

60. Participant in an annual event since 1951 : NBA ALL-STAR

64. Year of Alexander V's death : MCDX - 1000, (-)100, 500, 10 = 1410

65. Dude ranch problem : SADDLE SORE

66. Nuisance : PEST

67. They require discussions : ESSAY TESTS

DOWN:


1. Toady? : WARTY

2. Castle seen in "The Whirl of Life" : IRENE - ah, the person, not the structure

3. USAF E-6's : T-SGTS - Forgive me if we have a Technical Sergeant who reads our blog, and I have forgotten who you are

4. Apple core, briefly : CPU - Apple, the computer company, that is

5. Keep : HOLD ONTO - again, not the structure

6. Command : HEAD - had LEAD here, made my first Across Witch Laze(r)

7. Idle : AT REST

8. First half of an indirect course? : ZIG - and of course, the second half being "ZAG"

9. Antique French coin : ECU

11. Speck : IOTA

12. Getaway that gives you a lift : SKI RESORT - what's your fave, HeartRx~?

13. Where Brooklyn Park is : MINNESOTA - not MANHATTAN; C.C., nearby perchance ?? (From C.C.: Oui!)

14. Eel-like marine reptiles : SEA SNAKES

22. Ethyl ending : ENE - Ethylene

24. Nobelist Bohr : NIELS - WARNING~! Science Content

26. Boxer's cry : ARF - this BOXER

27. Weary : TIRE - This doesn't jive for me - tireD, yes (C.C.: Weary can be a verb.)

32. Office gadget : DATE STAMP

33. Ontologist's concern : EXISTENCE - sounds like they're making life even MORE complicated

34. Unfinished business : LOOSE ENDS

36. Falcon-headed god : HORUS - if ANT stops in, he'll appreciate this one - it's the album cover I think I liked best from Iron Maiden



38. Longtime Mississippi senator : LOTT

40. Bad sign for one seeking a shortcut : NO OUTLET - here on Long Island, you see this too often - lots of "exclusive" developments



43. Unnamed woman : HER

47. Inn choice : RAMADA

51. These, in Tijuana : ESTOS

52. Bridget Riley genre : OP-ART - take your pick

53. Nasal passages : NARES - pretty straight forward

55. Modern dialogue unit : TEXT - best church sign I have seen in a long time:

"HONK if you love Jesus; Text while driving to meet him now"

57. One who's with you : ALLY

61. Humanities degs. : BAs

62. Plugs : ADS - usually the verb for advertises is "plugs"

63. Helmsman's hdg. : SSE
 



Splynter

Friday, March 9, 2012 Kevin Christian

Theme: Barefoot on the beach, or no flip "flops". No flops at all with the theme entries today! All four answers are perfectly grand definitions for "flip".

2A. Flip : BECOME EXCITED. You can flip out when you finish today's offering from Kevin and realize that it's also a pangram.

28A. Flip : COMEDIAN WILSON. Star of the Emmy award-winning "The Flip Wilson Show" which aired on NBC.

45A. Flip : DIVING MANEUVER. Try not to over-do your back-flip and turn it into a belly-flop.

54A. Flip : RESELL QUICKLY. Probably not a great idea to try flipping your house in the current market, at least not here in California.

Happy Friday, everyone. Steve here standing in for Lemonade and trying not to commit any gender-confusion sins in today's write-up. I found this nice and tricky; I needed a lot of crosses to make headway on the theme entries as well as on a few of the others. Some nice learning moments too. I enjoyed the "Jeopardy-style" cluing for the theme entries, I'm sure there's a correct crossword term for that, but I'll have to defer to the experts on that one.

Let's take a look at everything else:

Across:

1. Spiced tea : CHAI. The Indian spice cardamom flavors this drink, which is widely available in Starbucks. Starbucks, however, is not widely available in India - remarkably the country does not (yet) have a single outlet.

5. Nerdy guy in "Meatballs" : SPAZ. Jack Blum's character in the 1979 movie.

9. Center of Florida? : EPCOT. Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow at Walt Disney World in Orlando.

14. Deep-tissue massage pioneer Ida : ROLF. I needed the crosses to discover this lady.

15. Half up front? : HEMI. Chrysler Motors trademarked the "Hemi" name, although other auto manufacturers also produce engines of a similar design. "SEMI" was my first thought here, until I found myself scratching my head at "SSIELDS"

16. Big wheel from Holland? : GOUDA. Food! The "other" Dutch cheese. I especially like the smoked variety.

17. City in 22-Down : AMES

18. Coast-to-coast hwy. : I-TEN. Just across the Hollywood Hills from me, this Interstate stretches from Santa Monica, CA to Jacksonville, FL

19. Barn nestling : OWLET

23. Write (down) : SET

24. Camera with interchangeable parts : SLR. You can swap out the lens on a Single-Lens Reflex camera.

25. "... if not cheaper" : OR LESS

32. Eats more of than is wise, with "on" : OD's. I'm completely unsure of how to punctuate a pluralized abbreviation - any suggestions?

33. Cut the crop : REAP. What a great clue!

34. Lettre recipient, perhaps : AMI. Your French friend will be happy to receive your missive.

35. Florida county renamed to include its largest city : DADE. Now Miami-Dade.

38. Travel, in a way : JET. Not necessarily my preferred mode of transport, but certainly my most frequent. Southwest Airlines to Oakland this morning.

39. Rapper-turned-actor : ICE-T

40. Egg opening? : OVI. Quick - give me an egg-opening word that isn't OVIDUCT.

41. Zen master's riddle : KOAN

43. Tobacco co. based in Winston-Salem : RJR. R.J.Reynolds. I recently stopped contributing to their revenues when I quit smoking, and not before time.

50. Chemical relative : ISOMER. Could one of our resident chemistry experts tell us the difference between an ISOMER and an ISOTOPE?

51. Pay stub abbr. : Y.T.D. DED was my first try here, my year-to-date deductions are depressing.

52. French article : DES

58. Ltr. accompaniers : ENCLS. You could enclose a SASE in your letter to your French friend "pour encouragez les auteurs" perhaps?

60. __ Honor : YOUR

61. Frost : HOAR. The beautiful formation of ice crystals like these:

62. Good thing not to wear in a rainstorm : SUEDE. It probably beats wearing nothing at all in a rainstorm though.

63. "Bingo!" : I WIN

64. When Valjean is released from prison : ACT I. Our good friend Jean from Les Miserables.

65. Continue until : END AT

66. Hockey Hall of Famer __ Stewart : NELS. Robert Nelson "Old Poison" Stewart was probably inducted into the Hall of Fame for his awesome name alone.

67. Flightless bird : RHEA

Down:

1. Chesapeake Bay haul : CRABS. I dithered over this one, as CRAB is also plural. Now it's got me wondering which other nouns can either add an "S" or not for the plural form.

2. Shop alternative : HOME EC. Back in my UK schooldays we had "Woodwork" or "Domestic Science."

3. One of the Greek Furies : ALECTO. Needed all the crosses for this, I'm trying to figure out how to remember it for next time.

4. Conditional words : IF SO

5. Defense mechanisms : SHIELDS

6. He ruled jointly with Ivan V for nearly 14 years : PETER I

7. "Don't leave home without it" co. : AMEX. Diner's Club introduced the first credit card in 1952, American Express came along with their card six years later.

8. Sunscreen element : ZINC

9. Vacation for the self-employed? : EGO TRIP.

10. Secretary of state after Albright : POWELL. Colin served under George W. Bush.

11. Good street for playing : CUL-DE-SAC. I can vouch for this having lived on one of these dead-end streets as a kid, and as kids are wont to do, we sniggered when we learned that "cul" is a rather impolite French word for "bottom".

12. Inspired poetry : ODE

13. Body pic : TAT. "Tattoo" seems to be almost archaic now.

21. Teacher's grad deg. : M.S.Ed, the Master of Science in Education degree.

22. 17-Across's state : IOWA

26. Roughly : SOME

27. Distraught state : SNIT. Personally, I would be only mildly distraught if I was in a snit, for more extreme distraughtedness I've got much better words, but Rich wouldn't like them in his crosswords.

29. Duff Beer server : MOE. Homer Simpson's favorite brew poured by his favorite barkeep.

30. Concert venue : ARENA

31. Not gross : NET. Don't get me started on those year-to-date deductions again.

35. Diana's escort __ al-Fayed : DODI. The companion of the Princess of Wales in the latter years of her life.

36. National rival : AVIS

37. No longer together : DIVORCED. Just like me and the gross part of my paycheck that didn't make it into my net.

38. Bind : JAM

39. "Mr. Chicago" journalist Kupcinet : IRV. Very subtle "Mr." abbreviation clue here.

41. Israeli parliament : KNESSET

42. Storybook heavy : OGRE. Shrek seems to have taken the sting out of the good old-fashioned scare-the-bejabers-out-of-you fairy tale baddies.

43. Stock clerk's charge : RETURNS

44. Dench of "Iris" : JUDI. Dame of British theatre and film.

46. Leader with a shoestring budget? : IMELDA. First Lady (now Congresswoman) Marcos of the Philippines, reputed to own more than 2,500 pairs of shoes.

47. Cold remedy in LiquiCaps : NYQUIL

48. "Mayor" memoirist : ED KOCH, former Mayor of New York City.

49. Connect : RELATE

53. Arab League member : SYRIA

55. "__' Eyes": Eagles hit : LYIN. On my iPod for those maudlin moments.

56. Actor Rob : LOWE

57. Blacken : CHAR.

58. Journal ending : -ESE. I had to wait to decide between -ese and -ist.

59. Sister or mother : NUN. Lovely aha! clue to finish with.



That's all from me - have a wonderful weekend.

Steve

Thursday, March 8, 2012 Julian Lim

Theme: Hot to Trot. The first theme entry had me going all DF...

3D. 2000 Ben Kingsley crime drama : SEXY BEAST

5D. "Who shot J.R.?" e.g. : BURNING QUESTION

9D. People, for one : POPULAR MAGAZINE

15D. Piquant sushi choice : SPICY TUNA ROLL

And the unifier:

33. Easily angered, or what the answers to 3-, 5-, 9- and 15-Down appear to be? : HOT HEADED. The four theme entries are "headed" by synonyms for "hot": sexy, burning, popular or spicy. I'll take it any way I can get it!!

Hearti here, with another fun Thursday offering from Julian Lim. It's been a while since I blogged one of his puzzles, but I never forget his wit. Let's see what he has for us today...

Across:

1. Condiment often mixed with soy sauce : WASABI. I mix a drop of soy sauce to a tablespoon of wasabi. DH mixes a drop of wasabi to a tablespoon of soy sauce.

7. Cowboys-and-Indians toys : CAP GUNS. Wow, what a blast from the past, playing with the neighbor kids. I can still smell the sulfur from those rolls of caps!

14. Help, metaphorically : A LEG UP. More legs for Splynter...

15. Scrape together : SCROUNGE. Great word. I used to scrounge money from my sister to go to the movies on Saturdays.

16. Bobby ___: '40s-'50s adolescent girls : SOXERS. Remember poodle skirts?

17. Teen dieter's target, perhaps : PUPPY FAT. More familiar with "baby fat", but I guess puppies can be overweight, too. I think he needs to 21A...

18. "Stop right there!" : HEY.

19. Classic pop : NEHI. Radar's drink.

21. Start of a personal trainer's motto : USE IT...and lose it!

22. ASCAP competitor : BMI. Broadcast Music Inc. collects license fees for musicians, as does the American Society of Composers, Artists and Publishers.

24. Phrase from one who sees : I CALL. Poker. And 65A. Dealer's demand : ANTE UP.

27. ___-wop music : DOO. Remember poodle skirts?

28. Song of thanksgiving : PAEAN. Song from a paisan? 3:50

30. Workaholic's personality : TYPE A

31. Talk on the street? : SLANG

32. Zoom : TEAR

33. Santa's laughs : HOs. Hey, Argyle!

36. And the following, in a bibliog. : ET SEQ. "et sequens" or "et sequentia". Latin.

37. James Bond's outfit : TUX. Who else wanted MI6? But the clue refers to the outfit he is wearing.

38. Given to gloom : MOODY.

40. Spot for a snooze : COT

41. Asian soup noodle : UDON. Wheat-flour noodles, usually served hot, in soup. Yummm!

43. Trump's "The ___ the Deal" : ART OF. His blueprint for rising to the top. Anyone read it?

44. Vex supremely : EAT AT.

46. Guggenheim Museum Bilbao architect : GEHRY. Frank, who designed this masterpiece in Spain:

47. OPEC measure : BBL. Why two "b"s for "barrel"? Find the answer here!

50. Campfire treat : SMORE. Yummm!

51. Dogfish Head product : ALE. Craft-brewed ales, for melissa and Abejo.

52. Sought-after group : A LIST. ...or "A-listers", who are the crème de la crème of society.

54. Courtroom cry : OYEZ. Not to be confused with "oyer", which is an open hearing. OYEZ is called three times to bring the court to session.

56. "That's the spot!" : AHH

59. Watchman : SENTINEL

62. Much-anticipated time : BIG DAY

64. Like Little League World Series qualifying games : REGIONAL

66. One who decks the halls, say : ADORNER

67. Tachometer part : NEEDLE

Down:

1. Household chore : WASH. Iron, dust, cook...

2. Healthy smoothie ingredient : ALOE. Aha! So it's not just a soothing lotion additive!

4. ___-appropriate : AGE.

6. ___ dixit: unfounded claim : IPSE

7. Hosp. area for heart patients : CCU. Coronery Care Unit. Stay out of there, Lemonade!

8. Alsatian dadaist : ARP. Our old favorite dada guy.

10. Male people : GUYS. Uh-uh, I use it for both male and female. "What's up, guys?"

11. Needing nourishment : UNFED. (Needing S'mores?)

12. Marsh of mysteries : NGAIO. Not familiar with him. (Update from Fermatprime: Marsh is a dame!) And 45D. Mystery writer Josephine : TEY. Not familiar with her, either.

13. Squabble : SET TO

20. Google success : HIT. They actually have a site that tracks these things.

23. Hair very apparent? : MANE. A pun-ny take on "heir apparent". I guess if you have a mane of hair, it would be quite apparent!

25. Zenith : APEX

26. Field for a fold : LEA. A fold can either be the pen that sheep are kept in, or the flock of sheep.

28. Infinitesimal division of a min. : P-SEC. Pico-second?

29. Middle harmony part : ALTO

34. Stink : ODOR

35. "Ghost Hunters" network : SY-FY. Evidently, the #1 paranormal show on TV.

37. Dog in Kansas : TOTO

39. Sports analyst Hershiser : OREL

42. River project : DAM

47. Iraqi seaport : BASRA. Geography lesson for the day. Zoom out, and you will see that it is not a seaport, after all.

48. Go through the page : BLEED. Like ink.

49. Techspeak, e.g. : LINGO

53. Cup-a-Soup direction : STIR

55. Abba of Israel : EBAN. This guy. Ambassador to the US and UN.

57. Lug : HAUL

58. Publicist's job : HYPE. Hurry, hurry, step right up!!

60. L.A.-to-Helena dir. : NNE

61. Kernel holder : EAR. Don't you hate it when you get kernels of corn in your ear?

63. Merged comm. giant : GTE. GEE, are we done already? See you next week!

Answer grid.

Hugs,
Marti